The Biden Family Tree, Explained
A visual guide to five generations of the Biden family — from Joe Biden's grandparents in Baltimore and Scranton to his children, in-laws, and grandchildren today.
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden Jr., 46th President of the United States, comes from a Catholic family rooted in Baltimore and Scranton. This guide walks five generations of his family — beginning with his grandparents, ending with the grandchildren who joined him at the White House.
The family at a glance
- People
- 28
- Generations
- 5
- Years spanned
- 137 (1883–2020)
- Earliest born
- Ambrose (1883)
- Latest born
- Beau (2020)
How to read the graph
Each circle is a person. Lines connect parents to children, and spouses to each other; dashed lines mark divorces, faded ones mark a partner who has died. Click any node to focus on it, or drag to rearrange.
First generation — the grandparents
Joe Biden's roots run through two American cities. On his father's side, Joseph H. Biden Sr. and Mary Robinette were Baltimore Catholics; on his mother's side, Ambrose Finnegan and Geraldine Blewitt raised their family in Scranton, Pennsylvania — the city Joe Biden would identify with for the rest of his life.
The Scranton line
Ambrose Joseph Finnegan
1883–1957 · Olyphant, Pennsylvania, USA
Newspaper advertising salesman in Scranton; maternal grandfather of Joe Biden.
Married Geraldine Catherine Blewitt
Second generation — Joe's parents
Joseph R. Biden Sr. married Catherine "Jean" Finnegan in 1941. A car salesman and a homemaker, they had four children — Joe, Valerie, James, and Frank — and moved the family from Scranton to Delaware in 1953 in search of work.
Third generation — Joe and his siblings
Joe Biden was the eldest of four. His sister Valerie managed every Senate campaign he ran and both of his presidential bids. James and Frank stayed largely out of politics. Joe married twice — to Neilia Hunter in 1966, and after her death in a 1972 car crash, to Jill Jacobs in 1977.
Joe's siblings and spouses
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden Jr.
46th President of the United States
1942– · Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
46th President of the United States; 47th Vice President; U.S. Senator from Delaware 1973–2009.
Married Neilia Hunter · Jill Tracy Jacobs
Fourth generation — Joe's children
Joe and Neilia had three children: Beau, Hunter, and infant Naomi, who died with her mother in 1972. Joe and Jill had one daughter, Ashley. Beau, who served as Delaware's Attorney General and a Major in the Delaware Army National Guard, died of brain cancer in 2015 at 46.
Joe Biden's four children
A family that lost too early
Births and deaths across the family
- 1883AJAmbrose Joseph Finnegan born
- 1886GCGeraldine Catherine Blewitt born
- 1893JHJoseph Harry Biden Sr. born
- 1894MEMary Elizabeth Robinette born
- 1915JRJoseph Robinette Biden Sr. born
- 1917CECatherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan born
- 1941JHJoseph Harry Biden Sr. died
- 1942Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden Jr. born
- 1942Neilia Hunter born
- 1943MEMary Elizabeth Robinette died
- 1945Mary Valerie Biden Owens born
- 1949GCGeraldine Catherine Blewitt died
- 1949JBJames Brian "Jim" Biden born
- 1951Jill Tracy Jacobs born
- 1953FWFrancis William "Frank" Biden born
- 1957AJAmbrose Joseph Finnegan died
- 1966
Howard David Krein born - 1968
Kathleen Buhle born - 1969Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III born
- 1970Robert Hunter Biden born
- 1971NCNaomi Christina "Amy" Biden born
- 1972Neilia Hunter died
- 1972NCNaomi Christina "Amy" Biden died
- 1973HKHallie K. Olivere born
- 1981Ashley Blazer Biden born
- 1986
Melissa Cohen born - 1993
Naomi King Biden born - 2000
Finnegan Biden born - 2001RMRoberta Mabel "Maisy" Biden born
- 2002JRJoseph Robinette Biden Sr. died
- 2004
Natalie Naomi Biden born - 2006RHRobert Hunter Biden II born
- 2010CECatherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan died
- 2015Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III died
- 2018NJNavy Joan Roberts born
- 2020BBBeau Biden (son of Hunter) born
Generation by generation
- JHJoseph
- MEMary
- AJAmbrose
- GCGeraldine
- JRJoseph
- CECatherine
- FWFrancis
- JBJames
- Mary
- JTJohn
- Joseph
- Neilia
- Jill
- Joseph
- HKHallie
- Robert
- Kathleen
- Melissa
- NCNaomi
- Ashley
- Howard
- Natalie
- RHRobert
- Naomi
- Finnegan
- RMRoberta
- NJNavy
- BBBeau
From a Baltimore grandfather to a White House great-grandchild
The shortest path from Joe Biden's paternal grandfather to one of his own grandchildren runs four generations of fathers and sons — Baltimore to Wilmington to Washington.
JosephJosephNatalieBy the numbers
Two cities, two wives, three lost too soon, and a Scranton kid who made it to the Oval Office.
Common questions
- Who are Joe Biden's children?
- Four: Beau, Hunter, Naomi and Ashley. Naomi died as an infant in 1972.
- How many times has Joe Biden been married?
- Twice — Neilia Hunter from 1966 until her death in 1972, and Jill Jacobs since 1977.
- What happened to Joe Biden's first wife?
- Neilia and their baby daughter Naomi were killed in a car crash in December 1972, weeks after he was first elected to the Senate.
- How did Beau Biden die?
- Brain cancer, in 2015, aged 46. He had been Attorney General of Delaware.
- Who is Jill Biden?
- A teacher, and Biden's second wife since 1977. She raised Beau and Hunter and is Ashley's mother.
- How many grandchildren does Joe Biden have?
- Seven — two from Beau and five from Hunter.
- Is Naomi Biden named after someone?
- Yes. Hunter's eldest daughter carries the name of the sister who died in 1972.
- Are the Bidens a political dynasty like the Kennedys?
- No. Beau was the only other Biden to hold elected office, and no Biden holds one now.
- Where is the Biden family from?
- Scranton, Pennsylvania, then Delaware, which Joe Biden represented in the Senate for 36 years.
- Who is Ashley Biden?
- Joe and Jill Biden's daughter, born 1981, a social worker.